Coastal residents decry JWA noise, pollution

Oct. 18, 2013

Updated Oct. 20, 2013 5:34 p.m.

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An environmental study is one of the steps needed to update an agreement, expiring at the end of 2015, which governs noise, passenger levels and flights at John Wayne Airport. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

An environmental study is one of the steps needed to update an agreement, expiring at the end of 2015, which governs noise, passenger levels and flights at John Wayne Airport. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

The environmental report will assess the potential effects of allowing more flights and passengers at John Wayne Airport. The effects include:

- More noise in nearby neighborhoods

- Increased greenhouse gas emissions

- More demand for police and fire protection

- Increased vehicle traffic

- Possible wildlife disruption in the Upper Newport Bay

The public will have a chance to review the draft report in early 2014.

Coastal city residents sounded off about jet noise, flight paths and pollution at a meeting Thursday night to gather public input for an environmental study at John Wayne Airport.

The environmental study is one of the steps needed to update an agreement, expiring at the end of 2015, which governs noise, passenger levels and flights at the airport. The study will look at factors like air pollution, noise and traffic arising from increased use of the airport. Public comments are required during this process.

At the meeting, several residents from Newport Beach and Laguna Beach complained about noise, air pollution and “black, greasy sediment” covering their backyards. They were among the roughly 50 people who filled a meeting room at John Wayne Airport offices in Costa Mesa.

“I’m incredibly concerned about air quality,” Newport Beach resident Portia Weiss said. “It just seems very obvious, if we increase the number of flights, we’re going to get more pollution.”

Nancy Alston of Air Fair, a group working to curb airport expansion, said the study should look at new research on the ill effects of fine particulates generated by jets.

Kathleen Brady, a principal at BonTerra, the consultant heading the environmental study, said they would evaluate air pollution, along with greenhouse gas emissions, vehicle traffic, noise, demand for police and fire services, and effects on wildlife in the Upper Newport Bay.

Laguna Beach assistant city manager Christa Johnson asked for the study to include effects on that city.

“We’ve had many complaints about air pollution and soot and noise,” she said. “I want to see if this process can help our residents.”

Johnson and several others also decried a somewhat recent change in departure paths that funneled aircraft over neighborhoods in Newport Beach and Laguna Beach.

“The change in flight path really concentrated the pain,” she said.

Airport officials said the departure path change isn’t part of the environmental study, but they’d address that issue separately.

The study will look at the effect of gradually increasing passenger levels from the current cap of 10.8 million to a maximum of 12.5 million in 2026. The number of noisiest flights, called Class A, could also tick up to 95 per day from the current level of 85.

The stepped-up numbers are part of a proposed amendment to a settlement agreement first hammered out in 1985 by Orange County, the city of Newport Beach and airport-noise groups. The agreement, which defines airport operation standards and environmental protections, was amended and extended in 2003.

The stage for this latest amendment was set in March, when Newport Beach and local airport-noise groups agreed to terms that “maintain the status quo through 2020,” Mayor Keith Curry said at the time.

The tab for the environmental study, nearly $1 million, is being split evenly between the Newport Beach and the airport.

Environmental reports are expected to be ready for public review and comment in early 2014 and could go before Orange County supervisors next summer.

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